Barron's Picks And Pans: Apple, GM, Oracle, Softbank And More

• This weekend's Barron's suggests ways to play the unusual back to school season.
• Other featured articles look at some "special stocks" and at the one company responsible for the all-time high stock market.
• Also, the prospects for a standout hotel stock, a cloud giant in need of a boost, a surprise electric vehicle play and more.

'Back to School' Is Not the Same. Here Are 4 Stocks to Play the Changes." by Teresa Rivas and Avi Salzman examines the different strategies Nike Inc NKE, Walmart Inc WMT and others are using to win over shoppers in the COVID-19 era.

Lawrence C. Strauss's "Wyndham Stock Is Well Positioned to Ride Out Pandemic" makes a case for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc WH as a smart bet despite a crisis that has driven a sharp decline in travel.

In "Oracle and TikTok? Larry Ellison Should Just Say No," Eric J. Savitz points out that Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok doesn't make much sense for cloud giant Oracle Corporation ORCL, but the company could use a shot of adrenaline.

The new Synaptics, Incorporated SYNA chief executive has reorganized and rightsized the company, according to "This Chip Company's Makeover Has Only Just Begun" by Eric J. Savitz. And Wall Street is starting to notice.

In Ben Levisohn's "One Stock Deserves Credit for the Market's All-Time High," see why Barron's thinks Apple Inc. AAPL pushed the S&P 500 to a fresh peak, but the rest of the market inspires far less confidence.

See also: This 2009 Playbook Predicts S&P 500 Is Headed To 3,800

"These Stocks Are 'Special.' Here's Why." by Al Root shares why one star investor who focuses on companies undergoing big changes, or small but meaningful changes, that other investors are overlooking likes Pfizer Inc. PFE and several others now.

Tesla Inc TSLA stock seems unstoppable, but General Motors Company GM shares are a better buy. So says Al Root's "GM Is a Better Play on EV Than You Might Think."

In "SoftBank: A Risky Bet That Still Pays," Eric J. Savitz discusses why shares of SoftBank have rallied as the Japanese conglomerate gets disciplined about asset sales and stock buybacks, but the gains could continue and the stock is still worth buying.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• Back to school as the next big test of the economy
• Time for a crash in college tuition
• The Federal Reserve and racial justice
• Joe Biden's economic plan
• Preparing for a declining dollar
• Stock-option strategies that split the difference between fear and greed
• Activist investors and special purpose acquisition companies

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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